Even if you are not a fan of opera, you heard about the theater “La Scala” in Milan.

Its name has a history. Previously, on the place of the theater, was a church called “Santa Maria Alla Scala”. Building the theater, the workers found a marble plate with a picture of a Greek mime Pilad and regarded it as a good sign.

The architect of the theater was Giuseppe Piermarini. He paid attention to the good acoustics and the location of an audience. The theater hall looked like a horseshoe and consisted of 194 lodges and a parterre. Every lodge had from 8 to 10 chairs, the second row of each had tables for playing cards and trading. But the idea of Piermarini had flaws: the scene was small, no heating, dim lighting. That is why the theater staff lit candles. The wax fell to the spectators’ heads, so all of them should wear hats. But inside, in the pompous silver and golden theater halls, the flaws seem to be insignificant. All the buildings costed 1 million lire, 90 percent of which were the money of local patrons.

The theater was several times under the restoration. The last time it was renewed in 2004.

The scene of the theateк is a place, where the great opera singers as Caruso, Kallas, Tebaldi, Corelli, and Chaliapin introduced their programs. Nowadays you can also listen to classics from around the world.